Flood forces Bloomington greenhouse to close for several days

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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – It’s been quite the week for a local greenhouse. Last week’s flood kept employees busy the last several days cleaning up the damages.

Mays Greenhouse, located on Bloomington’s south side, saw high water rush through some of its greenhouses and destroyed hundreds of plants.

“I lost some of my nursery stock,” said one of the owners, Jason Fulton. “I’m going through perennials. There are some losses I can tell, but I have to get things in order the way they were before we can really tell.”

The business has operated next to the banks of Clear Creek for more than 50 years. Fulton said he remembers a flood in 2008 that forced the business to close, but it wasn’t like last week’s flood that started on Thursday.

“This is more like the 100-year flood,” he said.

According to the Monroe County Emergency Management Agency office, the county had 6.7 inches of rain between Thursday and Friday.

Fulton said the creek started causing damages around noon. He thought the water was beginning to fall by 3 p.m., but employees worked until 7 o’clock that night saving what they could.

The business took a few dozen photos of the damage. They show standing water with floating plants in greenhouses, more standing water under computer desks in the office, and even a semi-trailer knocked over due to the power of the water.

Fulton thought the flood might have caused the business to stay closed for at least a week. On Wednesday, it had enough areas put back in order to get customers back into some places.

Credit was given to employees and some friends who volunteered to help tidy things up. Fulton hopes more help will come to get everything ready to go when business picks up in the spring. “Once we get things put back together, we need people to help us pot and get us caught up,” he said.

The county EMA office said residents in Monroe County are encouraged to report damage to their property or business. Residents may complete a report of the damage at www.co.monroe.in.us under the “Recent News” section or leave their contact information at (812) 349-2997. The county could become eligible for flood relief if it meets certain criteria.